Profile: Who is Vice Ganda?

It’s Showtime is a noontime variety show on ABS-CBN that has captivated audiences worldwide. Through the network The Filipino Channel (TFC), even Filipinos who live abroad can watch their favorite hosts regale their viewers with song, dance, or “buwis-buhay” (death defying) numbers.

In one episode of the show, after the performance of twin contestants during the “Twin It To Win It” segment,Vice Ganda and Vhong Navarro interviewed the contestants’ mother.

During the interview, the mother says that she constantly craved for salad and chocolates while she was pregnant with the twins. Vice Ganda then asked what kind of salad and the mother said, “Macaroni.” The mother then boasted that she would eat not just any chocolate but the expensive kind.

This was when Vice Ganda seems to have lost it, saying that the mother’s tone seems to be mocking their way of life, since he grew up poor and could not afford expensive chocolates.

He then went on to enumerate the candies he used to eat as a child, all locally made and available in any sari-sari (small convenience) store. The whole rant took the audience on a trip down memory lane, as they reminisced about their favorite candy treats as a children.

Vice Ganda or Jose Marie Borja Viceral, was born in Tondo, Manila on March 31, 1976. He is known for his self-deprecating brand of comedy. Like most comedians, he started out as a stand up comic performing in various comedy clubs in Metro Manila. He makes use of situational irony, sarcasm, and observational comedy, where he turns commonplace, everyday events into material for his routines.

However, Vice Ganda’s childhood was anything but comical. His father, a local barangay official, was murdered when he was young. His mother then left the country to work as a caregiver to be able to support her children.

Although it seemed like the odds were stacked against him, Vice Ganda, the youngest of five children, managed to graduate from college with a degree in Political Science from Far Eastern University.

After years of performing (read: training) in comedy clubs, Vice Ganda attracted the attention of TV honchos. He started appearing on TV contests that featured celebrities and soon enough, people took notice.

Vice Ganda landed his first leading role in the 2010 remake of Petrang Kabayo titled… you guessed it, Petrang Kabayo, which made Php 115 Million. Not bad for his first movie. His next project titled The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin was the highest grossing film of 2011.

Vice Ganda got his big TV break in 2009 when he became one of the judges on Showtime, which was later changed to It’s Showtime. The viewers loved him so much that he was never booted out of the show. Judges were replaceable and the viewers had the power to boot them out.

The show had some big shoes to fill. It initially served as replacement for Game KNB, a popular game show which aired for eight years, whose time slot came right before the noontime show. However, Showtime later became ABS-CBN’s noontime variety show going up against GMA’s Eat Bulaga.

Comedy may seem a world away from politics, but Vice Ganda’s education is perhaps what sets him apart as a comedian. He’s a smart comic, and uses words to make people laugh, as opposed to using actions like physical comics.

His wit and quick thinking have catapulted him to the top of comic food chain. And now, any show he headlines, any movie he stars in, and any TV show he hosts will definitely attract audiences here and abroad.